The Sand People
by SpunkyPaperAngel
Summary: The entire lives of the 4th Kazekage, Yashamaru, and Karura before each met his/her tragic end. Romance, action, friendship, drama, and everything in between. Events/ages go along with the actual Narutoverse timeline. Will feature Sasori eventually.
1. Your Hands Together

**The Sand People**

**Stage 1. Chapter 1.**

**Your Hands (Together)**

_By The New Pornographers. Why? The music video has dancing ninjas, some lyrics that go with story, and a nice vibe._

**Note: **This story starts when the Fourth Kazekage (Kaze no Hiro), Karura, and Yashamaru are around 12 years old and just became genins. It will end when the Kazekage dies, since he's the last of them to go. At this point (chapter one), the Second Shinobi World War is raging throughout the Narutoverse. I'd ask you to review and give me some motivation, but you probably won't do it anyways so why bother.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Narutoverse, or its characters.

* * *

"Kana Karura, Kana Yashamaru, and Kaze no Hiro, you three form cell one."

Kaze no Hiro sighed in reluctance at the announcement. If he could have things his way, he would be in a team with two of the strongest shinobi in his graduating class, _not_ with the Kana twins, and especially not with Kana Karura. That girl was a failure, by far the worst ninja Hiro had met in his entire life; she was the prime example of why so many Suna elders scoffed at the idea of the village raising kunoichi. She was awkward, impractical, and _gentle_.

If his instincts were correct, as they often were, the girl had only been placed with him in hopes that she would pick up some real shinobi skills and attitude, and with her brother so that she could find comfort when Hiro's impressive feats intimidated her. He was, after all, the best of the best: the most powerful in his generation and probably the three before and the next. No one voiced it—in Suna, nice words of encouragement were never spoken—but everyone, including Hiro himself, knew it. He was a true shinobi genius and being modest about it wouldn't change a damn thing.

However, now, he had to deal with a small hitch. All the cells had been divided and people were scurrying excitedly to meet with their new team members.

"I'm Kaze no Hiro," he walked up to the blond Kana boy and introduced himself.

"Kana Yashamaru," Yashamaru brought his arm out to shake hands with his dark-haired comrade, but was quickly taken aback by the smirk plastered on the other's face.

Hiro stared at the extended hand coolly. "I'm really sorry, but there's no reason to get all buddy-like. I just wanted to let you and your sister know that I think our cell is nothing but a failure waiting to happen, so let's not waste our time attempting to be friends and all that crap that teams do. Okay?"

To his surprise, Yashamaru smiled in return. "I figured that much. My sister– and I— would only slow you down, huh?"

When he had heard his sister and him were in the same team, Yashamaru had felt his stomach flip; when he heard his sister and him were in a team with no other than Kaze no Hiro himself, he felt his heart sink. If his suspicions were correct, and they often were, Karura was in a team with the Kaze so she could learn from him, and he was just a medium to keep peace. However, when the jounin and elders realized that his sister Karura would not become a competent kunoichi by spending time with the prodigy, the team would be disbanded. The chances that Karura would bring Suna's most promising shinobi down instead were staggering, after all!

He adored his beloved, slightly older, sister, he really did, but he wished she wasn't in his team. Karura was a weakling, even more so than him. Although he never got much respect from anyone, he had almost perfect aim, decent speed, above average chakra control, and enough power and stamina to put up a fight. He could call himself average, really, maybe even slightly above average if his beginner medical skills were taken into account, but Karura… she didn't even _want_ to be a ninja. She never complained or said anything, but if Yashamaru was an expert at something, it was at knowing her, and to him it was so obvious that all she wanted was a boyfriend. Peaceful and girly, his sister raised his chances of being in a team with someone powerful like Kaze no Hiro only to ruin that opportunity days later. She was a mess.

"Yashamaru!" the devil herself walked up to the two boys. "We're in the same team. Isn't that great?" Karura laughed loudly.

"Yeah, it's great," he replied weakly, twitching a little. "Can't wait to tell mom and dad."

_Liar_, she thought apathetically. Even she was aware that their team wouldn't work out, and it was all Kaze no Hiro's fault. She turned to glare at him, he whose flashy greatness hypnotized all the shinobi and sucked the true selves out of them. So now, even though her brother was normally always happy to have her around, he would be disappointed to have her in his team, and therefore they wouldn't work well together. All thanks to that despicable, dark-haired fool.

Hiro felt a shiver run down his spine; why was the girl just staring at him with a mean look? He hadn't done anything to her….

As the story went, Kaze no Hiro's family had wandered around the Land of Wind and beyond for several years: teaching the boy lessons about life and ninjutsu. Grandfather, father, and boy; his mother died during childbirth. By the time the trio got back to Sunagakure, Hiro was nine years old and was so advanced with his techniques that, instead of having to spend eight years in the academy, he managed to skip all of the basic classes and was now graduating with people his age. He caught up and surpassed them all in only three short years. Yes, she admitted, the young Kaze was very impressive; far stronger than she could imagine, and more clever than she could ever be. He looked like a happy, cute, innocent boy with wild but soft dark brown hair and deep eyes, but he was nothing other than a dangerous, deadly _man_. Karura had heard the stories that this kid had already killed, that he possessed a kekkei genkai that made him ever better than most could ever hope to be. He was so close to perfection, and yet he was the most egocentric and needlessly flamboyant prick she had ever met in her life.

Karura's teal colored eyes were burning into Hiro's reddened face, and the poor blushing boy couldn't take it anymore. "Hello there…" he grunted in discomfort, waving a hand in front of her face.

She blinked and turned her gaze away from him, suddenly flustered that she had been caught staring so rudely. "Hi there, Kaze no Hiro-san—sempai—sama!"

"H-Hiro alone is just fine…" he mumbled, looking down at the ground, suddenly feeling sheepish himself. Something about the girl's bright teal eyes had really bothered him.

Yashamaru stared on at the scene with a bored expression. _Whatever happened to the arrogant ego from earlier?_, he wondered sourly. _Did a weak little blonde girl scare the number one shinobi in Suna?_ If that was the case, then his self-esteem was really going down. How could Karura out of all people intimidate the Kaze boy anyways?

"Well, in that case, it's a pleasure to formally meet you, Hiro," Karura smiled, extending her hand.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Hiro mumbled incoherently, not daring to look her in the eyes yet taking her hand and giving it a small, hesitant shake.

Yashamaru rolled his eyes in disbelief. _Was he being so tame all of a sudden because Karura was a __**girl**_? He was going to have to talk to Hiro.

Karura began playing with the hem of her long shirt awkwardly. No one was saying anything.

"So, Hiro…" she started after a minute or two of just standing around in the silcence. "I guess we already know who you are, right, Yashamaru? Because everyone knows who you are; you are that cool. Everyone knows who Yashamaru and I are as well, I guess, but that's probably just because we are twins and twins are always acknowledged since they are quite a rarity…."

Hiro stared at the odd girl blankly. "Huh?"

Yashamaru shook his head. This was getting ridiculous, and any minute now Karura would start flirting unconsciously. Oh yeah, he knew her routine way more than he would like, and he would stop her this time! "You're talking too much, _Karura_."

"I am meeting my new team member, Yasha," she replied seriously, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes.

"I think you already met him enough," he said through gritted teeth. "Why don't you just start walking home and I'll catch up with you? There's nothing else to do here anyways. We won't meet our sensei until tomorrow."

Her bright eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why don't we both go home together now then?"

The blond boy sighed in exasperation. "I want to talk to Hiro about some guy things, so go away. Please."

Hiro raised a curious eyebrow. There was something to talk about?

"_Yashamaru_!" Karura burst out in unexpected laughter. "You're a perv!" And, as if satisfied that both her brother and new teammate were open-mouthed with disbelief, she finally trotted away happily the exact same way she had first arrived.

The pale Yashamaru cleared his throat once she was nowhere in sight. "Karura is strange and embarrassing," he started calmly. "She is also annoying to me, and she's sensitive. Would you do me a favor and be nice to her but at the same time would you just stay away from her?"

"Ummm…" Hiro was dumfounded. Both the Kana twins were now official nutcases as far as he was concerned. What kind of request was that?

"Look, both of us know that this team won't last long."

"Correct." Hiro nodded.

"So do not let my sister get attached to you."

Hiro shrugged. "I can do that."

"Are you sure? Because from the looks of it you _liked_ my sister a whole lot compared to me."

Again, Hiro got that uncomfortable feeling that made him hesitant and nervous. "I was being nice to her. You and I are both shinobi and men; we can be blunt with each other. Our team won't last and I don't care about our friendship. But… when I see your sister I don't see a kunoichi. She's just another girl, and I have to be a gentleman towards her. I was raised that way. But that doesn't mean I like her. I barely even know her."

"And I want things to be kept that way," Yashamaru frowned. He normally wasn't an overly protective brother, but he didn't want Karura to develop a crush on the elite Hiro, something he admitted was very likely to happen. The guy would never care about a sweet girl like his sister, and their mother would be absolutely furious at her. Karura would get hurt, and Yashamaru didn't want to be there to witness it. "If I know my sister at all, I can tell you that she's going to flirt with you. I want you to ignore any advance she makes, but don't ignore her presence altogether. Be friendly without encouraging her behavior, you know?"

"Why would she even flirt with me?" Hiro was well aware of his female followers, but he had never thought the Kana girl was part of them. She looked so… as if she lived in her own little world.

"Because that's the Karura thing to do. She flirts with everyone and doesn't even know she's doing it! So please don't flirt back, don't be overly friendly with her, and don't give her reasons to _like_ you, you know? You'll just break her heart and get her in trouble." Yashamaru crossed his arms in finality.

"I won't get her in trouble!" Hiro said defensively, starting to get mad. First the girl's cold stare, and now this? What was it with these kids that they were so angry with him? He hadn't even talked to them before! "Listen, I don't care about your sister _at all_. All I want to do is train and better myself. If anything, she's the team's main burden, and I am even willing to _not_ tell her that to her face because _I am a nice guy like that_."

"Well then just don't be _overly_ nice, okay?" Yashamaru flushed in annoyance. It bothered him that Karura was a girly girl, that Hiro was an attention-seeking boy, and that _he_ had to get involved. "I don't want Karura to be one of your fan girls."

"Possessive much?" Hiro's lip curved into a mean smile. "Let your father protect her, won't you?"

Yashamaru looked away. "He doesn't care about her," he mumbled.

"Then let your mom take care of her," Hiro shrugged.

"She'll just _hit_ her," Yashamaru's voice cracked. "I am the one who has to take care of Karura because if I don't then no one else will."

Ah, so the brother was seriously worried about his sister. Hiro liked that, when people took care of each other… but he wanted to _destroy_ the Kana boy here for pissing him off. "Sounds to me like you come from a dysfunctional family," he sneered, crossing his arms before him.

There was a beat, and then, "At least I have a better family than you," Yashamaru snapped. "Your mom killed herself the day you were born."

Hiro glowered. Of all things that could've been said, it was rude comments directed at his mom that he couldn't stand! "I think I have already had enough of you for one day. _I'm leaving_." He glared daggers. "Ah, and about your sister, keep her out of my way and I'll pretend she's not even there. I'll give you that much if _you_ stay out of _my_ way."

"Deal," Yashamaru faced him confidently. "I stay out of your way and you stay out of my sister's life."

Both young men nodded and walked away in different directions, positive that the deal could be done.

It could be done. Karura wasn't cute, Hiro thought, remembering the mean teal eyes. If anything she was scary, and she was a total loser. Staying away from her would be easy.

As for Yashamaru, Hiro was still fuming over the comment about his mother's death, but he had to admit the blond had guts. Hell, if that comment had never been made and that deal never done, Hiro thought reluctantly, _maybe_ they could've been friends after all. He really valued bravery, and the Kana dumbass had shown it.

"You better show up on time for training tomorrow!" he called back in spite of his anger.

Yashamaru gave a curt nod, and, although he was still feeling annoyed that the Kaze had acknowledged Karura more than him and that they had already had an argument, he sighed sadly. He had been looking forward to working with the Kaze even if it was just for a few days, but the first thing he had done was make him an enemy. And all for his sister's sake? God, Karura really ruined everything!

That night at the twins' home, Karura pestered her brother about the mysterious boy talk. She knew Yashamaru was a very proper guy and that the conversation hadn't been perverted at all, she even apologized, but he still wouldn't tell her anything. Then their mother showed up and smacked her on the head, ordering her to stop bothering Yashamaru and to go to bed.

In Hiro's home, he ate dinner alone. His father was fighting in the frontlines of the Second Shinobi Great War, and his old grandfather had gone to bed early. Unlike in the Kana household, no one asked him about his cell and about his day, but the good—or perhaps sad— thing was that he couldn't have cared less.

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**So what do you think about it so far? :) Thanks for reading, and I hope some of you stick around. I'm passionate about this story, but the characters aren't popular so I'm afraid no one will ever read it :(**


	2. Sail

**The Sand People**

**Stage 1. Chapter 2.**

**Sail**

_By AWOLNATION because a lot of the lyrics describe Hiro, more or less, and because the characters are finally starting to sail through their ninja lives._

**Note: **I realize this and the before and next chapters might seem slow-paced (introductions and setting up the characters) but it really picks up as the story advances (we get to the love triangles, drama, Sasori, pregnancies, deaths, and what not).

**Warning:** This chapter contains some pretty major cussing!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Haruki-sensei had to be one of the scariest men Kana Karura ever had the misfortune of meeting. For a fairly handsome man of eighteen, he was extremely loud, angry, insulting, and unnecessarily violent.

"A _fan_? You want to fight enemies that will be carrying kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags with a fucking _fan_?" He spat at Karura's face. "You gotta be fucking kidding me! You really are the brainless shit all the other jounin were complaining about! But guess what, girly? By the end of today, you'll have toughened up or my name is not Kaneko Haruki!"

Karura cleaned her face with her shirt sleeve and took a few steps back, her lower lip trembling as she was on the verge of tears.

"Don't cry!" he screamed at her, rolling his eyes mockingly. "Don't you _dare_ fucking cry!" God, was she a little girl! He snatched her beautiful, extremely heavy fan with one hand and threw it over fifty yards away, then cupped her chin on his palm and warned her clearly and dangerously softly, "If you cry, if you can't stand _this_, I will _kill_ you."

Karura hugged herself tightly, fighting back her frightened whimpers, and her body recoiled when he finally let go of her face.

Her brother looked on in anguish. He wanted to have the courage to just get out there and protect her from the man, but he didn't dare. He was scared for himself. Haruki-sensei was not the sensei he had had in mind….

The man, only a few years older than them and with copper red hair, turned his wrath against Yashamaru as if to prove his point. "What about you? Are you a pussy like your bitch of a sister?" he asked gracelessly.

"No, sir, I'm a real shinobi, sir." Yashamaru replied quickly. He looked the man straight in the eye, afraid to get spat on like his sister had, but determined to not let Kaze no Hiro be the only decent ninja in the team. Slightly more important than tending to Karura, he wanted to leave a good impression on his new sensei— was eager to have his name recognized as an important one.

Haruki sneered at the little blond boy's bravery. The kid's chakra was all over the place, absolutely terrified, but following the how-to-be-a-perfect-shinobi code he put up a good show of remaining rather sturdy. That was braver than not fearing at all. "How are you planning to defeat your enemies?" he asked, obscure interest evident in his voice.

"_Weapon_s…" Yashamaru said for the lack of a better answer. "I want to master weapons."

"You want to kill your enemies by using weapons?" Haruki lowered himself so he could be at Yashamaru's eye level.

"Yes," the boy replied, gulping.

"I like that. You want to see a lot of blood, eh? Never would've guessed you were a bloodthirsty one." He grabbed the blond boy's face and analyzed it from different angles. "You're too cute. I never would've thought."

He never would've thought because Yashamaru _wasn't_ bloodthirsty. He was far from that actually. "I'll do whatever I have to for Suna," he mumbled nervously.

Haruki nodded, his expression empty of all emotion. "You would do us all a huge favor here in Suna if you killed your twin, you know?"

Yashamaru, Karura, and even Hiro froze.

"I—I could never—I would _never_ hurt Karu!" Yashamaru sputtered. "She's my _sister_!"

Haruki-sensei shrugged. "What a shame. And here I thought you were worth a dime. But," he yawned, "I guess you're just a pussy as well."

He stood up, and Yashamaru looked shattered.

Haruki turned to face Hiro. "You," he said boredly, "How are you planning on fucking up your enemies?"

"I am a Kaze," Hiro responded nonchalantly, arrogantly, confident. "I use the magnet release kekkei genkai just like my grandfather, Kaze no Kankuro, and our Sandaime Kazekage-sama."

Haruki rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully. "You're the _grandson_ of Kankuro-sama, the Third's sensei back in the days?"

"Of course," he said proudly. "Haven't you ever heard of me?"

"Uh, was I supposed to?" Haruki raised an eyebrow. Of course he had heard of the brat, but why admit it?

Hiro looked flustered; he wished he had kept his big mouth shut. "Well, it doesn't matter. I answered your question, didn't I? My kekkei genkai is my weapon."

"But that represents a problem, Kaze-kun. Your beloved kekkei genkai is an even dumber idea than Blondie's fan over here," Haruki teased. "Her fan might be girly as hell, but if she wields it like her mother used to she can create deadly hurricanes. Your stupid magnet release is, in comparison, worthless."

"You _obviously_ have not seen a magnet release user in action," Hiro snapped defensively. "I can kill without even moving from my spot."

"Really now? You don't look like you are that good of a shinobi to me. You are too cocky and overconfident," Haruki said, irritation filling his voice once again. "You _really_ get on my nerves."

"Well you get on my nerves as well," Hiro snarled. "Who the hell are the idiots that decided to make you a sensei anyway?"

"The same idiots who decided to make you and these two fucks genins."

"Stop the name-calling already! You don't scare me, and just because they—" he glanced at the twin siblings with disdain, "—are weak doesn't mean you should intimidate them either."

"Listen to your own advice, son," Haruki said plainly. "You're the most conceited piece of shit I have ever met. You're not better than these two kids. You're a brat yourself. Just because you have a kekkei genkai doesn't mean the world has to bow to you, you know?"

Hiro's cheeks turned an embarrassed shade of pink. "Yeah, well, I might be conceited but at least I'm not as rude as you…" Staring at Yashamaru from the corner of his eye, he cringed at the memory of his own bad manners the previews day. His blush deepened. "Okay, so cancel that. I can be a total self-absorbed jerk, as much as I hate to admit it, but I would _never_ spit in a girl's face or mess around with the mind of a fellow Suna-nin just because. I would also never insult my students and try to break their spirit. These two and I are Suna's future shinobi in case you haven't noticed."

"If you guys are the future of this village then I'm moving to Konoha."

"Now you've done it!" Hiro growled, making a single hand seal. "You do not mess with me, Haruki!"

Haruki suddenly became worried. He had a feeling that whatever it was the Kaze brat had done was really going to hurt him.

It wasn't a surprise, but it was still startling, when kunai and the shurinken flew towards his body. Hiro had used the hand seal to help conduct his own magnetic chakra towards his sensei, thus magnetizing the man. Now the metallic weapons flew to the source of attraction, and escape was futile. All Haruki could do was use his arms to protect his vital points.

It _did_ hurt. Seven shuriken and five kunai struck him across his body, lodging in his torn muscles and jarring at some bones. Haruki let out a loud, anguished groan and fell on his back, his bloodied arms frozen in place. His black shirt turned even darker as blood pooled around the wounds in his stomach and lower ribs, and his bright green eyes were wide in horror and pain and, most of all, disbelieve. His stomach was churning violently and a metallic taste sat in the back of his throat. He felt cold, sick, and couldn't wrap his mind around the rotten luck he'd been dealt. He was going to die like this? Killed by a fucking kid? Well, fuck him!

Then there was screaming. The girl was screaming. _What have you done? _She shrieked in panic. Stars were dancing before his eyes and the chaos around him was becoming a wave of slurring echoes that he couldn't decipher. Then there was nothing.

"_Fix him, Hiro!_ Fix sensei right now!" Karura was yelling.

Hiro was bewildered. "What do you want me to do? What's done is done! I'm not God!"

"What were you thinking, you idiot? You _killed_ him!"

"Calm down, Karu," a pasty Yashamaru looked over the unconscious man. "He isn't dead. He protected his head, neck, and heart, so he can still survive if we get him help fast."

"See, stupid? He's alive!" Hiro argued with Karura.

"Go get a medical-nin right now, you idiot!" Yashamaru screamed at him. "If he dies, _you're_ going to be held responsible!"

Hiro was mad. They called _him_ an idiot? Who did they think they were to call him an idiot! They were just losers!

Then again, being mad was easier than being scared. He hadn't meant to hurt his new sensei! It had been done on impulse, really! He hadn't been thinking straight. He ran to the clinic as fast as he could, praying to gods that he wasn't really sure existed to not let Haruki-sensei die on them.

Meanwhile, Karura was fretting around nervously, eyes on her brother who was working arduously on Haruki's mangled flesh. The sight was gory, and the scent of blood filled the air as Yashamaru pulled out more and more of the sharp weapons from the man. Yashamaru's red-stained hands were glowing a blue aura that attempted to heal the wounds, but he was just a beginner and the damage was severe. When he would mess up his new sensei would writhe in pain.

It still amazed his sister though, the ability her twin had to learn. Just by watching medical-nin in action during the past few years, Yashamaru had figured out the basics of simple healing. He'd healed her before on occasions; sometimes completely and other times just enough to get her to being able to bear the pain. Karura opened her mouth to congratulate him on his skills and suggest he get professional medical training, but he spoke before she had a chance.

"You should've gone to get water instead of just standing around being useless," he said.

"I— I'm sorry— I'll go now—" she started, but Yashamaru rolled his eyes.

"They are pretty much here already. It's too late for that." He could feel Hiro, followed by two medical-nins, quickly approaching.

"You should've told me earlier then," she mumbled back.

He should have. He knew it, but he… he had wanted all the credit for himself. He loved Karura more than he loved his mother and father, but he desired his parents' attention all the same and Karura was his rival when it came to that. Every time he did something right, Karura would be scorned at for not being as good. No one ever praised him; Karura stole _his_ attention. Even when formally meeting Hiro she had gotten more attention! It's not like she asked for it; she didn't even understand the bitterness in her dear brother. It had become a one-sided rivalry to Yashamaru however, and the thing he wanted the most in the world was acknowledgement from someone: anyone by this point.

Karura was crushed. She was used to being looked down upon by her mother and father; it didn't even matter anymore. But it was when Yashamaru was harsh on her that her heart nearly broke.

"Hey," he saw her watery teal eyes. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she choked. "I should've tried to help you or something. I'm sorry, Yasha."

"It's not like you would've known what to do," he said guiltily. "I apologize." He wiped his bloody hands on his shirt as Hiro landed in front of him.

Dark eyes analyzed his sweaty, pale complexion, dilated, silvery blue-purple eyes, and dark red grime coating his skin and clothes, and then spotted the half-healed Haruki. Hiro exhaled a weird noise full of surprise, relief, and anger.

"_Yashamaru-san_, _why_ did you make me go get a medical-nin if _you're one yourself_? You got me in trouble!"

"Hey! He isn't a trained medic!" Karura snapped defensively. "He only knows what he learned from watching!" Then, proudly, she announced, "My brother is a genius!"

Hiro rolled his eyes. "I still got in trouble because of him." He sulked.

"Or just maybe it was your temper that got you in trouble!" Yashamaru retorted.

Hiro shrugged uncaringly, grumbling something about annoying blonds ganging up on him. He walked towards the medical ninjas who were bent over Haruki, healing all of the leftover wounds.

Yashamaru shook his head. How he wished he were in a normal team! "Karura, let's go home."

"Yes, brother," she replied, and together the twins walked away from the scene.

The medics finished patching up a now semi-conscious Haruki soon after.

"Hiro, was the Kana boy the one who treated Haruki-san while you went to get us?" asked the female medic.

"I guess," Hiro said. "It looked like it."

"That boy must have excellent chakra control," the male medic told the female. "Even though he did all the easy stuff, that was half the work we would've done ourselves."

"And he worked some of the worst injuries too," the female pointed out. "He probably kept this man alive. He could've bled to death, or have some severe internal hemorrhages."

"Hiro, you are one lucky kid to have the Kana boy in your team," the male told him. "It's not often that there are kids your age with healing abilities. Most of you are barely learning to control chakra."

"Go to Kazekage-sama's office," the female ordered. "We will take your sensei to the clinic and meet you there."

"A report will be made. Plan what you're going to tell your dad."

"My father is fighting in the frontlines," Hiro said. He hadn't seen the man in months.

"Then plan on what you'll tell Kankuro-sama," the female stated sternly. "What you did is serious, kid. We are in times of war; you know that! We need able Suna shinobi. You almost killed one of your own!"

"It was an accident," he mumbled, but before the woman could continue chiding him he walked away towards the Kazekage's office.

It was a very long afternoon that day. Between being chastised by the village leader, by his grandfather, by the medics, by some elders, and by many other shinobi, Hiro felt bored. Between trying to give his parents the detailed story on why he was covered in dry blood, only to be completely ignored, and then trying to find enough water for a decent bath, Yashamaru felt frustrated. And between trying to avoid her ever-nagging mother and trying to find a way to be less "useless" to her brother, Karura felt depressed.

At night however, at least Yashamaru and Karura cheered up enough to eat dinner together and play. The same couldn't be said of the lonely Hiro.

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**Not the best, but what can I say? I've suddenly become a very busy person, and if I try to reach excellence I'll never finish :D Thanks for reading, and also I decided to name my chapters after songs, so if you think there's a song that applies better, or just applies, to this chapter let me know ^-^ I'm making a playlist. And ummm... I'll be uploading for this around every 2-3 weeks unless I don't have time at all. See ya next time? I might upload some 'artwork' on deviant art about this story later on too :p**


	3. Shake Me Down

**The Sand People**

**Stage 1. Chapter 3.**

**Shake Me Down**

_By Cage the Elephant because of the beautiful bittersweet lyrics and music; if this story had an animated opening, this would be the song._

**Note:** Continues right where the last chapter left off. Teehee :3 I had uploaded the document a week ago but didn't post the chapter! So dumb….

**Warning:** Just like four or five bad words.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Narutoverse.

* * *

The Kana twins were in Yashamaru's bedroom, working on some minor damages that Karura's fan that had received when it'd been tossed carelessly by their sensei the day before. The graceful weapon had been forgotten in the training fields before finally being retrieved by the siblings that morning, and now it was already midday and the girl was yawning and complaining out of boredom.

"It's broken, Yasha. I'll just have to buy a new one."

"It's not _broken_," her brother mumbled, concentrating on the task. "I can so fix it."

"But it won't be as good as it was before."

Yashamaru glanced at her with sad eyes. "You just love it when mom beats you up, don't you?"

She gulped. Karura was used to being her mother's punching bag, but even then it still hurt like hell. The thought of it made her recall the searing pain on her left cheek from the slap her mother had given her before she had even woken up. "_The fan is not where it's supposed to be_," the woman had snarled. "_Where is it_?"

Karura had realized that she had left it at the training grounds, and when her mother followed up by grabbing her by the hair and throwing her against the wall, she stuttered her wince and immediately tried to scram away.

"Go get the fan right now, you stupid idiot!" The woman's claws buried into the girl's left underarm and she threw her out into the hallway.

"_Dad!_" Karura choked out in terror. She curled into a ball, bracing for the next impact that would surely happen. Her father hardly ever helped her after all.

Her brother, however, rescued her. "_Mom, stop,_" he stepped in front of his sister protectively, looking into his mother's wild teal eyes with his own misty gray.

"That bitch! She lost _my_ fan!" the hysteric woman explained helplessly and started bawling uncontrollably.

Karura hugged her brother's legs nervously. Everyone in Suna was psychotic. The sun cooked their brains! Yashamaru was the only sensible person.

"Don't cry," he cooed comfortingly. "C'mon, Karu. Let's go get the fan back now, okay?" He pulled Karura up to her feet, held her hand tightly, and dragged her shaking body all the way to the training grounds. Together they found the slightly tattered fan right where it had landed the day before, and there they had stayed for a whole hour so that when they returned their mother could be calmer. For as much as he respected his mother, his sister was ten times more loved and if Yashamaru could keep her out of harm's way he would.

Back in the present time, Yashamru continued quietly, "I don't like to see you get hurt. It's a good thing no one took the fan and that it didn't get destroyed. Mom would've beaten the living daylights out of you."

Karura sighed. "Eh, I guess you're right. She does love her damn fan more than me. She'd freak if we declared it officially broken."

Yashamaru gave her a halfhearted smile. "She doesn't _love_ the fan more than you, silly. She just… the fan is special. It was grandma's, then it was hers, and now she really wants you to make it yours. That's why she gets so upset at the thought of you mishandling it."

"But she sure mishandles me…" Karura pouted, the memory of being pushed around at six in the morning nagging at her conscience.

Yashamaru, peaceful mediator as he was, didn't dare disagree.

The twins continued chatting away while the boy fixed the dents and scrapes on the fan and the girl polished it. Their father was reading in his bedroom while their mother was cooking lunch in the kitchen. Compared to the rough morning, it was now all peace and quiet in the Kana household. Until Kaze no Hiro decided to visit and knocked loudly.

The woman of the house left her food preparations and opened the door, glaring down at the cute, brown-haired kid that stood before her.

"Hi," he innocently said. "Are Yashamaru-san and Karura-chan home?"

"Yes," she told him.

"May I talk to them then, please?" he asked.

The insolence the kid had! "And who are you again?"

"Pardon me," he bowed. "I'm Kaze no Hiro. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kaze no Hiro. Her twins' fellow teammate and member of the distinct Kaze family. One of the now Kaze Trio. She had been delighted to work with Kaze no Kankuro-sama and with both Kaze no Akihiro and his defunct wife back in her days of being a kunoichi…. The child in front of her didn't look special compared to his ancestors though. He was rather plain, actually.

"Ma'am, I'm in a hurry," Hiro pressed. "May I talk to Yasha and Karu?"

And he was rather rude compared to them as well. "Yashamaru! Karura!" she called her kids. "The Kaze boy is here!" She looked down at Hiro coldly. "Wait for them here." She slammed the door shut in his face.

Hiro shrugged. He had the feeling Lady Kana hadn't thought too kindly of him— maybe he had come off as a little cheeky, he thought—but it didn't really matter. It's not like he would have to ever see her again anyways. He leaned beside the door and stood there waiting for the siblings, who after a short minute arrived with similar puzzled expressions.

"What the hell are you doing here?" they asked him in unison.

He glared at them pointedly. "I'm here because you two didn't show up for training!"

The siblings exchanged confused glances and then finally Yashamaru spoke for the both of them. "Since you almost killed sensei yesterday we thought it was obvious training was cancelled until further notice."

"Like, when he gets out of the hospital," Karura added cockily, as if talking to a small child who didn't understand anything.

"Nonsense!" Hiro snapped at them. "We have to go out there and _train_! Who knows when Haruki-sensei will get out, and then all the other genin teams will be way ahead of us! The three of us should start train together for now!"

"_That's_ nonsense, right, Yash?" Karura said. "We aren't getting anywhere close to you, you psychotic little murderer—"

"Wait," Yashamaru covered his sister's mouth with his hand. "Shut up, Karu. Maybe he's right and we _should_ train…."

"Ee en tren ee ee gan ah n yoo n ah tren ooh geh er. Liz?" Karura asked in spite of Yashamaru's hands being pressed tightly against her lips and mumbling her speech. Her brother always understood her anyways. 'He can train with his grandpa and you and I train together.'

And Hiro didn't, but he could put one and one together and understood the gist. "If you don't want to train to me, then fines! I couldn't care less! But, Yashamaru, you're smart. I want to train with you and I know you want to train with me so come on!"

Karura flickered her tongue against Yashamaru's hand, making the blond boy let go of her in his disgust. "_My_ brother is going to train with me so back off, you jerk!"

She was scary, but Hiro was brave. "Yashamaru! Please! What you did yesterday with the whole medical ninjutsu was really cool! Forget all the bad things I've ever said. It would be my honor if you would _please_ be my team member."

"Yasha, don't listen to him!" Karura tugged on his arm. "Stay with me!"

Yashamaru glanced from his sister to Hiro and back again several times, unable to decide what to do. On one hand, Karura was the best. He actually liked spending most of his time with her. Sadly, if he was serious about training, then training with Karura was pointless. She sucked at being a ninja. On the other hand, Hiro was a prodigy. He had been excited at the prospect of teaming up with him because of the challenge it implied. The down side was that Hiro was an insufferable jerk and spending an hour with him was a challenge on its own. Then again he was being nice this time… and he had acknowledged him! He had called him smart and cool! He had picked him over Karura! All his sister had done so far was lick his hand.

"Karu… I think I want to go with him…" he started hesitantly. He saw her face turn somber in an instant.

Hiro noticed it too. The teal-eyed glare from before that intimidated and bothered him. "Karura-chan, you may come with us too, you know? I'm not trying to steal your brother." He laughed nervously.

"_Shut up_!" she yelled at him. "_I know that_!"

Hiro flinched. "I just want to borrow him for a while. Don't be so mad. Geez."

"Come with us, Karu," Yashamaru told her with a smile. "I really want to go train with Hiro-san, but I don't want you to be upset over it."

"But Yash…." She looked at him with desperate, pleading eyes.

He cringed away from her well aware that she was a comment away from changing his mind. "Okay, listen up. If we don't go out training at all, what will happen with mom?" Karura shrugged. "She'll train us herself the rough way," he said, answering his own question.

The blonde gulped. Training with their mother had never been fun. It was too painful. She treated them like enemies.

"Isn't training with Kaze-san a better alternative?" Yashamaru asked her.

She nodded in resignation. "I'm not happy about this, but I'll go get the fan…."

"And I'll go get my gear," he smiled widely. "Wait here, Hiro-san."

Hiro nodded, leaning against the wall thoughtfully. Yashamaru was strange. Quirky. On one hand he was reserved, gentle, and relaxed, and on the other strong and intense. Too mature for a genin, and despite being kind he seemed to be frighteningly efficient. Yashamaru was bound to become a phenomenal shinobi and a loyal friend.

"Where do you think you're going? It's almost lunchtime! Come back here! Karura! Yashamaru!"

The Kana twins ran out of their house in a blur and kept running. Lady Kana was screaming after them, and as she approached Hiro, in fear of being attacked, he ran as well. "I'll bring the twins back home safely, Lady Kana!" he told her, but she kept yelling and he doubted she heard him.

Being the fastest, Hiro quickly caught up with the blonds and steered them towards the center of Suna. There was one more thing he had to do before being at peace.

"We are going to the clinic first," he announced. "I need to apologize to Haruki-sensei,"

Karura and Yashamaru halted their run. "Why are you being so weird all of a sudden?" they asked together.

Hiro stopped as well. "You see, I… I really got in trouble yesterday. My grandfather was very disappointed in me. Kazekage-sama was as well. They said…"

"_You're an embarrassment to your mom and dad."_

"… _an insult to your kekkei genkai ."_

"… _a disgrace to the village."_

"… they said some harsh things, and I want to prove them wrong," Hiro finished.

"Well, you have a lot of making up to do," Karura said. "But, admitting that you've made mistakes and don't always treat people right is a good start." She smiled.

"Thank you," Hiro grinned. "I know I'm not perfect, but I am the best Suna has so I should start acting like it."

The twins exchanged amused looks. He was so arrogant, but at least he did have the skills to back his snobbishness up with.

The trio walked the rest of the way to the clinic wordlessly, the twins thinking about the events the day had given them so far, and Hiro mentally practicing his apology to Haruki, only to realize that he had never before in his life apologized for anything serious and had no idea what to say.

"We're here to see Kaneko Haruki," Karura said to the receptionist when they arrived to the clinic.

He still didn't know what to say.

"Sign here, Kaze-kun, and Kana twins," the nurse told them. "Kaneko-san is in room seventeen."

They all signed the paper and were walking down the hall, and he still didn't know what he'd say. So to stall, he picked a fight with. Karura. While she firmly believed real apologies sprouted from the heart, he argued that people should plan their words ahead of time in order to not get caught up at the moment and risk being not forgiven.

"You can't rehearse an apology! It should come natural, you idiot!" she yelled at him in frustration.

"Don't be stupid! How is an apology supposed to come naturally? I'm not completely sorry I hurt Haruki! Am I supposed to tell him that?"

"If you're not sorry then you shouldn't apologize at all!"

"But I _am_ a little sorry! So what am I supposed to say then? Huh?"

"Keep quiet!" a nurse stomped out of a patient's room moodily. "Clinics are no place for bickering!"

Hiro and Karura pursed their lips as the nurse glared at them. Her eyes softened however when she spotted the silent blond boy next to them.

"Hey, you're Kana Yashamaru, correct?" she asked, her frown turning into a wide smile.

"Y-y-yes, ma'am," he stuttered. "Why?"

"Could you come with me? I want us to talk with Chiyo-sama!"

"To Chiyo-sama? The medic and poison expert _Chiyo-sama_?"

"Yes!"

"But _why_?" He took a step back.

"We've all heard what you did for Kaneko-san yesterday, and we would love for you to become a Suna medic!"

"Yashamaru a medic?" Hiro and Karura smiled in delight.

Yashamaru panicked, he protested, but his two overexcited companions pushed him into going with the nurse to meet his 'destiny'. Before he knew it he was sitting behind a desk across from Chiyo-sama taking placement exams and answering interview questions he wasn't prepared to answer. All he had wanted was to train with Kaze no Hiro, but of course Karura would end up training with him instead. She always ruined everything.

Even Hiro agreed that she ruining everything. She was cruel! Or probably still angry at him because of earlier and was trying to get revenge! He couldn't convince the girl to give him five minutes to let him practice an apology. She just opened the door of room seventeen and poked her head inside. "Haruki-sensei! Hiro-kun and I have come to visit you!"

"What…?" Hiro heard Haruki say.

He grimaced. His hands balled into fists as he considered punching Karura on the face, but he always avoided hitting girls. His grandfather always taught him hurting females was vile and unmanly if it was done outside a life and death situation. So instead he just followed the blonde into the room, eyes on the spotless tile floor, and hands once again slack.

Haruki sat up on his bed, a scowl settling on his young face as he looked at Hiro expectantly. "What the fuck do _you_ want?"

The boy took a deep breath and exhaled. "Kaneko-sensei…" he started, and he paused. He could hear the gears in his brain working to find the right words for his great speech and finding nothing. Haruki was still glaring at him. "I am sorry I hurt you," Hiro continued humbly, out of ideas. "I was out of line… and I'm _so_ very sorry." He kneeled and bowed as an afterthought. Total humiliation. If that wasn't the most thorough, _natural_ apology ever then he didn't know what was.

Haruki nodded in approval, and considered apologizing in return for having pushed him into attack. Then again, he was the grownup sensei and didn't have to apologize for shit. "And what the hell are you doing here?" he asked Karura casually.

She squealed a startled apology and kneeled next to Hiro.

"For?" Haruki rolled his eyes.

"I don't know!" She gave him a sheepish smile.

The copper-haired man chuckled, a sound that was hoarse and strange coming from his foul mouth; all of a sudden he found that little girl to be kind of adorable. "Get up," he told her, and when Hiro stood up as well he added more fiercely, "_No_, you stay down, you bastard. You really fucked me up. You got a lot of making up to do."

"Yes, sensei sir…." Hiro bowed back down.

Haruki sneered in satisfaction and Karura laughed loudly. The meeting was short, with her and her new sensei engaging in small talk about his health, about Yashamaru being a great shinobi, about Hiro being a reckless fool, and lastly about the weather. Hiro was allowed to stand up when things got awkward and then Haruki kicked both kids out of his room with the pretense that he needed sleep.

And it was over, and Hiro was relieved. "Now we can go train!" he said triumphantly.

Karura sighed profoundly. "Can't we wait for my brother to come out first?"

"Pff! _No!_ That'd be wasting time. He'll find us when he's done." He started walking out of the hospital, but noticed that she didn't follow. "Hey, are you scared of being alone with me or something?"

She shook her head. "It's just that you said you wanted to train with Yashamaru, and I… I don't think I'm any good to train with the likes of you."

"It's okay," he smiled reassuringly. "I won't hurt you. I swear. We'll just make do with each other until your brother is done here. But in any case, if you want, I'll just help you improve instead. You'll be almost as good as me in no time."

She seriously doubted that but made no comment. She just followed Hiro into one of the training grounds off the outskirts of Suna, where she would show him what a failure she truly was.

"You do suck like everyone says," Hiro pronounced five minutes into training. He had talked her into using the fan but she couldn't even make a breeze of an attack. Maybe she was like those rare kids that couldn't use ninjutsu. "Are you any good with genjutsu or taijutsu?"

"I um— I'm not— I can't do genjutsu. It's out of my league. And I'm not good at taijutsu either, to be honest, but I can put up a good fight if I have to and the other person is weak." She looked down at the ground.

… She really sucked. "Have you _ever_ been able to conjure up some ninjutsu?" he asked more frantically than he intended.

"Oh yes! I can do it every now and then. When Yashamaru is around!"

"Yashamaru. Yashamaru! We need to make you independent from Yashamaru!" Hiro grumbled. "Is he like the most important thing in your life or what?" How pathetic!

"Actually," she looked up at him with a funny smile, "He is." Hiro's felt himself turn dumber. "Who is the most important person in your life, Hiro-kun?" she asked him curiously.

His brow furrowed. "No one really. Probably my grandpa. Or my dad I guess."

"Yasha is my number one most important person, and I don't even have to think about it," she told him.

He had a feeling he shouldn't ask, but he couldn't help it. "What about your parents? Where do they stand on the list?"

"They don't." She shrugged. "Dad scores higher than my mom, but that's easy. She's the last person on my list."

But mothers were supposed to be precious. "Why do you say these things?"

She didn't know why she was telling him, but she answered. "My mom doesn't like me. She blames my brother and me for ruining her life. Her pregnancy destroyed her career in the ANBU, you see. And, as everyone knows, I'm not good with the kunoichi arts. So she hates me because I'm not like her, and I hate her for hating me. It's as simple as that."

"But you shouldn't be saying that," Hiro preached. Her words bothered him more than he thought possible. "Mothers are important. When I was little I would've given my kekkei genkai just to meet my mom, because she died when I was born and I never got to meet her. So appreciate your parents. Be happy you have them both."

"It's so unfair." Her empty gaze connected with his. "You wish you had met your mother and I wish I had never met mine."

Her coldness sent a shiver run down his spine. "Karura-chan, what you're saying is wrong, and it's scary." Who was she? The sweet, playful girl she usually came off as or this hatred-filled creature that held no compassion, love, or loyalty for its own progenitor? Was she bipolar?

"Let's just keep practicing with your fan," he exhaled, wanting to change topic.

She nodded half-heartedly. As much as she hated training she was willing to welcome it if it distracted her from the rage she felt against her mother. It wasn't her fault her father had lost a limb. It wasn't her fault they had married. It wasn't her fault she'd been born. It wasn't her fault she wasn't passionate about shinobi arts. She didn't deserve the beatings and the contempt. But one day she'll leave it all behind and until then she just had to hang on.

That evening the twins arrived home late; Hiro and Karura had spent the day training and then drinking coconut water at the local hangout spot as they waited for Yashamaru, mostly because Karura had been too scared to go home alone after their midday escape. As expected, once there the detached parents yelled at their daughter twice as hard as they praised their son when he told them he was now an official Suna clinic medic intern.

For some reason though, it hadn't hurt Yashamaru as much as it usually did. Maybe because Hiro had high-fived him? Or because Karura had congratulated him with that look of deep adoration in her eyes? Or because they had bought him coconut water? He was happy and proud of his accomplishment and nothing bad mattered.

Hiro arrived to his own house feeling quite satisfied with himself. He'd apologized to his sensei, he had trained for a while, he had started helping Karura with her shinobi skills and got to know her a little more (he was glad she turned out to be a barrel of fun, despite her dark side, and he discovered that she was a little too flirty, much to his chagrin), and he had cleared up his differences with his now comrade and future buddy Yashamaru. He heated up his dinner, took a quick shower, and slept like a baby that night.

* * *

**I really dislike the part at the hospital before the apology, but after rewriting it for the umpteenth time (a few months ago) I got tired and left it at that :/ Can't just leave it out altogether as it says how Yashamaru turns into a medic and brings Haruki back in the game (again, he is minor but does play a role).  
Ummm… oh yes! This is the last 'introductory' chapter; meaning that 'serious' plot (things revolving around canon events) starts next chapter, which I'll be sure to post the chapter in time -_- Thanks for reading!**


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